Why become a nurse educator?

It has been said for years now, that Wisconsin is bracing itself for a massive nursing shortage. This is anticipated over the next two decades. Various efforts have been made to prevent this from happening. One of the most significant efforts was to create more nurse educators, so schools can enroll more nursing students. Colleges have had to turn away hundreds, sometimes over thousands of students every academic year due to a shortage of staff and resources.

Nursing education is a high-growth, in-demand field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for post-secondary nursing instructors is projected to increase 35.4 percent by 2022. Much of the growth is due to a national shortage of nursing educators that are being compounded by changing educational requirements and a retiring workforce. Faculty staff has an average age of 58. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects approximately 15 percent of nursing educators will retire by 2022.

According to Nurse Journal, “the largest problem in Wisconsin is the lack of qualified Nurse Educators. There is plenty of interest in the field of nursing but simply not enough staff to deal with this interest. Hence, most of the efforts in the state are geared towards increasing the number of educators. The state is also trying to make the profession more interesting than clinical work at a master’s degree level, something that traditionally earns a better salary.”

Within universities, community colleges and healthcare organizations, nursing educators can fill a variety of roles, such as:

• Nursing instructor
• Lecturer
• Assistant professor
• Adjunct faculty
• Clinical nurse educator
• Director of nurse education
• Director of staff development/education
• Director of professional development

At Bellin College, we expanded our Nurse Educator track in the Master of Science in Nursing program to offer a new flexible, online format beginning fall 2018.

Program Highlights

“Perhaps our greatest concern for the future is the question of where the ‘next generation’ of nurses will come from.”